Container holding hygroscopic material

ABSTRACT

To reduce humidity levels in an enclosure, such as a toolbox or tackle box, containers holding hygroscopic material can be placed in the enclosure. Such containers must be large enough to absorb water for several months and small enough to not require excess space. The containers may be shaped to have greater surface area than a sphere or cylinder of equal volume to increase absorbency and have an appearance that increases likelihood of use.

BACKGROUND

Described below are containers holding hygroscopic material that can be placed in toolboxes or other enclosures to absorb moisture, thereby minimizing oxidation of the tools or other contents enclosed within the container.

Many occupations use tools outdoors and in other environments where humidity levels are high enough to cause oxidation (corrosion or rust) of tools if they are left exposed to the environment for many days. For example, it is common for construction workers, utility repairmen, etc. to carry tools on or in vehicles to construction or repair sites and to leave the vehicles, often with the tools stored therein, outdoors most of the time. Similarly, it is common for automotive servicemen to store many tools in garages that are not air-conditioned and dehumidified and therefore have high humidity levels overnight and during seasons and locations when humidity levels are high most of the day. Numerous other examples of enclosures containing items subject to oxidation or otherwise damaged by high humidity, could be provided, such as fishing tackle boxes.

It is common for small containers (less than a centimeter thick and only a view centimeters in the other two dimensions) of hygroscopic material to be included in packages after manufacture and prior to shipment. Much less common are containers of hygroscopic material that can be purchased for use in toolboxes, tackle boxes and other enclosures during use of the contents of the enclosures. There are no known examples of such containers in a shape which would encourage their use.

SUMMARY

An aspect is to provide a container for hygroscopic or hydrophilic material to absorb moisture in an enclosure, such as a toolbox or tackle box.

When used in a tool box or other enclosure containing heavy items that may shift around, it is desirable for a hygroscopic material container to be a shell that is rugged and has a non-mesh construction which is substantially rigid or inflexible. To be permeable to water vapor, there are many holes through the shell.

To increase the capability of the hygroscopic material to absorb moisture, the surface area of the shell has a shape that is not substantially spherical, substantially cylindrical, or substantially rectangular in perpendicular cross sections.

To increase the likelihood of use, the shell has a shape similar to items in the enclosure. In the case of a toolbox, the shell may have a shape like a cordless power drill, cordless reciprocating saw, ball-peen hammer, handsaw, screwdriver or combination wrench, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1A is a side view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a cordless drill;

FIG. 1B is a rear view of the container illustrated in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a side view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a cordless powered reciprocating saw;

FIG. 2B is a rear view of the container illustrated in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a hexagonal socket;

FIG. 3B is a side view of the container illustrated in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a ball-peen hammer;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a handsaw;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a phillips screwdriver;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a combination wrench;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a work boot;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a running shoe;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a purse; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a fish.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

There are many examples of containers that hold hygroscopic or hydrophilic material and desiccant molding methods to produce shapes of objects used to reduce humidity levels in enclosures of various types. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,179 describes shaping a desiccant as small beads or spheres or a tablet similar to the size and shape of pharmaceutical tablets stored in a tube. Another example is the drying capsule described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,638,179 which is substantially cylindrical in shape with rounded ends. Another example of a desiccant with a substantially cylindrical shape is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,566 as a cylindrically-shaped shell with a height shorter than its radius, that is disposed at one end of a coin tube used to store valuable coins. An example of a desiccant in a “box” shape, i.e., substantially rectangular in perpendicular cross sections, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,998 in which a toolbox made of a molded synthetic polymer has a foam insert bed infused with a corrosion inhibitor such as amine nitrite crystals. Such methods may be used for more complex shapes, such as a grid formed of or coated with hydrophilic gel material as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0266794, or the plugs described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2011/0048976 and 2014/0076749.

In almost all cases, the examples discussed in the preceding paragraph require the manufacturer of the enclosure, or the contents of the enclosure, to produce or specify the dimensions of the container holding or infused with hygroscopic material or a shaped desiccant. When marketing containers filled with hygroscopic material to consumers as an aftermarket item, it is helpful to use shapes that attract the consumer and increase the likelihood that the container will be placed in an enclosure and used for reducing humidity (and thereby corrosion) in the container. Shapes such as those illustrated in the drawings herein are examples of containers that might be attractive to users of a toolbox.

FIG. 1A is a side view of a hygroscopic material container shaped like a cordless drill. A large portion of the surface area of shell 20 forming the container is perforated with holes 22 through the shell 20. In an exemplary embodiment, the largest dimensions of shell 20 are approximately 3-4 cm in the vertical and horizontal directions visible in FIG. 1A and about 1 to 1.5 cm thick in the horizontal direction visible in FIG. 1B.

In an embodiment like that illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the surface area containing perforations of holes 22 through the shell 24 may be 50% or less of the total surface area. On the other hand, the perforated portion of the surface area may be over 90%, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, or the entire surface as illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 or to produce an artistic design enhancing the appearance of the shape of the container as illustrated in FIGS. 8-11.

The shell, e.g., 20 or 24, needs an internal volume large enough to hold hygroscopic material sufficient to absorb water vapor likely to be present in the enclosure over a period of weeks or months, so that the container does not have to be replaced frequently. On the other hand, the shell should have an external volume small enough to fit in the types of enclosures in which it is likely to be used. In light of these limitations, hygroscopic containers used in toolboxes may have a volume of between 5 cm³ and 20 cm³ (0.3 in.³ to 1.2 in.³) depending on the size of the toolbox. For a typical toolbox, the volume of the shell may be about 12 cm³ (0.75 in.³), i.e., in a range of 8 cm³ to 16 cm³ (0.5 in.³ to 1 in.³), and in applications from a small tackle box to a large locker, the volume may be between 2 cm³ to 40 cm³ (0.1 in.³ to 2.5 in.³).

As noted above, it is advantageous to use non-spherical and non-cylindrical shapes to increase the surface area. However, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a combination of substantially cylindrical shapes similar to a socket of a socket wrench may be used, so that the hygroscopic material container fits in a pre-formed space in a toolbox or other enclosure. One of the benefits of using such a shape is that the hygroscopic material container can be easily located for replacement. Producing hygroscopic material containers having a shell 26 as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B differ from those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,235,566 and 3,642,998 in that shell 26 holding the hygroscopic material is not inserted by the manufacturer of the enclosure to fit precisely in a specific space, but rather is produced in a shape that fits in an available space commonly existing in enclosures produced long before the hygroscopic material container, such as the spaces in which sockets are conventionally stored in toolboxes.

A description has been provided with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof and examples, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the claims which may include the phrase “at least one of A, B and C” as an alternative expression that means one or more of A, B and C may be used, contrary to the holding in Superguide v. DIRECTV, 358 F3d 870, 69 USPQ2d 1865 (Fed. Cir. 2004). 

What is claimed is:
 1. A moisture absorber, comprising: a shell having a non-mesh construction, but permeable to water vapor due to holes through the shell, in a shape that is not substantially spherical, substantially cylindrical, or substantially rectangular in perpendicular cross sections; and hygroscopic material sealed shell.
 2. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the holes are located in over 50% of the shell.
 3. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 2, wherein the shell has a volume of between 0.5 cm³ and 6 cm³.
 4. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 3, wherein the shell has a volume of between 1 cm³ and 3 cm³.
 5. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 4, wherein the shell has a volume of between 1.5 cm³ and 2.5 cm³.
 6. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 3, wherein the shell is substantially inflexible.
 7. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 3, wherein the shell has a cordless power drill shape.
 8. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 3, wherein the shell has a cordless reciprocating saw shape.
 9. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a ball-peen hammer shape.
 10. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a handsaw shape.
 11. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a screwdriver shape.
 12. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a combination wrench shape.
 13. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a footwear shape.
 14. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 13, wherein the shell has a shoe shape.
 15. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 13, wherein the shell has a boot shape.
 16. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a purse shape.
 17. A moisture absorber as recited in claim 1, wherein the shell has a fish shape. 